Bioengineering Undergraduate Studies

Aims and Scope of the Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate curriculum at Caltech focuses on two key goals: 1) Engineering new biological systems and functions, and 2) Applying engineering principles to learn principles of biological design. The curriculum provides students with a firm grounding in engineering principles, biotechnology, and fundamentals from the biological sciences through coursework on physical cell biology, systems biology, biomolecular engineering, biodevice design, and synthetic biology. Bioengineering undergraduates are strongly encouraged to perform research in campus laboratories. Students graduate with a strong experimental and computational foundation for careers or further study in bioengineering, biotechnology, biomedicine, biological data analysis, and the expanding universe of biology-related disciplines and industries.

Students will also have learned quantitative and analytic skills vital to experiments and system designs. Graduating students are expected to be able to critically evaluate and understand bioengineering literature, and be able to work in a team and communicate effectively.To accomplish these goals, students are expected to complete a series of required courses designed to introduce them to a representative range of bioengineering sub-disciplines, provide them with a solid quantitative analysis foundation, and provide them with opportunities to work in teams through a number of project-oriented courses. Students will receive instruction in scientific communications through Bi/BE 24.Undergraduate research is encouraged both during the academic year and through participation in summer research programs. Students should present a plan for satisfying all degree requirements to their academic adviser by the end of the third term of the second year.Students with a grade-point average lower than 1.9 will not be allowed to continue in the option except with special permission from the option representative.